Automatic cultivator



Jan. 28, 1936- G. HANTJOPOULOS AUTOMATIC CULTIVATOR Filed March 26, 19354 Sheets-Sheet l W \\qu\ NS ms WK mm wm NM Mn W R W Y E 1 0 N N a $13 mM m K; m a O I o W w w il I A M /7 W 5 a? w Y B G. HANTJOPOULOSAIJTOMATIC CULTIVATOR Jan. 28, 1936.

Filed March 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 III VENTOR.

{"fil flmf jqpozl/as 7r w M 1936- G. HANTJOPOULOS AUTOMATIC CULTIVATORFiled March 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 lll ll.

1N VENTOR. rqe flan Gea ijapau/as Jam. 28,; 193$. HANTJOPQULQ$2,@28,774l

AUTOMATI G CULTIVATOR I Filed March 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

t" ye fiamybpw/m ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 28, 1936 PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC CULTIVATOR GeorgeHantjopoulos, New York, N. Y.

Application March 26, 1935, Serial No. 13,039

20' Claims.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a cultivator adapted to beoperated and steered by hand forcultivating a garden, vegetables,vineyards or betweerrrows of corn',.cotton, tobaccoand for other similarpurposes.

This machinecultivates by cutting the soil, slice by slice, in a rapidway, chopping all roots of the weeds in its path and freeing the plantsfrom weeds.

The machine consists of a case enclosing rotary operating mechanism,with the front end mounted on traction wheels and with hoes mounted atthe rear, which may readily be raised or lowered and. steered at will bya handle which is affixed to the top of the case. The case is providedat the front with an extension upon which an engine is mounted for selfpropelling.

Other features andadvantages of the-invention Willi appear from thefollowing description, taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure I is a View showing a longitudinal section through the caseshowing the operating mechanism of the interior thereof.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan through the case on line 2-2 with partsomitted, and with part thereof showing the upper drive shaft with theother parts at the rear shown below.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the machine with parts omitted.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the: machine.

Figure 5 is a detail showing a section through the-differentialandshowing openings through which set screws may be reached for holding theinner differential gears on the shaft.

Figure 6-is' a view showing an end elevation of the rear of the machine,with parts omitted.

Figure? is a cross section on line l'! of Figure '1'.

Figure 8' is across section on line 8-8 of Figure- 1.

Figure 9- is a plan view of an internal yoke in which the hoe shafts aremounted and by which therelative positions thereof may beadjusted.

Figure 10 is a cross section through the yoke on 1 line Ill-HI of Figure9.

Figure 11: is also a cross section through the yoke on line |'I --l l'of Figure 9.

Figure 1-2 is a; side view of the yoke shown in Figure 9. Y

Figure 13' is a cross section through the special clutch arrangement onthe upper drive shaft.

Figure 14 is a cross section on line |-4'l4 of Figure" 13..

Figure 15- is a diagrammatic view showing the gpath of travel: of theholes in fine lines for one position and in dotted lines for anotherposition.

In the drawings the cultivator is shown as it may be made whereinnumeral l indicates the case forming a housing for the mechanical parts,numeral 2 the hoes, and numeral 3 a representation of an engine by whichthe device may be operated.

The case I is preferably made as shown with a forward section 4, a rearsection 5, and a relatively narrow intermediate section 6. This case issupported upon traction wheels 1 and 8 at the front and rests upon athird wheel 9 at the rear. The upper side of the case is provided with ahandle H] by which the device may be held by hand, and the motor 3 isplaced on a platform I l at the front which is resiliently mounted uponarms I2 and I 3 by springs l4 and IS.

The motor 3 may be of any type or design, and may be operated bygasoline, oil, or any fuel, or an electric motor may be used if desired.This motor is connected through a universal coupling IE to a shaft I1,and the shaft is mounted in bearings l8 and I9 with a thrust bearing inthe bearing IS. The thrust bearing is formed in a bushing 2| which isthreaded into the bearing I9, and the interior of the bushing isprovided with an opening into which the end of the shaft I! may extendas shown. The shaft I7 is provided with a worm 22 which meshes with aworm gear 23 ona transverse shaft 24 upon which it is fixedly mounted,or keyed as shown and a spiral gear 25 is also fixedly mounted on theshaft 24 and this meshes with a spiral gear 26 on a shaft 21 whichdrives a differential 28 of the traction wheels.

The differential 28 is positioned about a shaft 29 which is formed intwo sections with one section extending from each side of thedifferential. The gear 26 runs free on the shaft; however it is providedwith a toothed hub 30 at one side which engages a sliding collar 3| thatis keyed to the shaft, as indicated by the dotted lines 32, and when itis desired to drive the device by the motor the collar 3| is thrown intoengagement so that the gears 23 and 26 are in mesh and will rotate theshaft, and thereby rotate the differential gears.

The differential is driven by a gear 33 on the shaft 2'! which mesheswith a large gear 34 attached to the internal housing 35, and thishousing is provided with the small idler pinions 36 which mesh with thedifferential gears 3'! and 38 on the respective sections of the frontaxle or shaft 29. The gears 31 and 38 are fixedly attached to the endsof the sections of the axle by set screws 39 and 49, and as it issubstantially impossible to reach these set screws, openings ll and 42have been provided through the gear 34, and the housing 35, so that ascrew driver may be placed through these parts to reach the set screws,or other holding .means for these gears on the respective sections ofthe axle. The traction wheels I and 8 may be of any type or design, andmay be mounted upon the axle in any manner. t is preferred to use wheelswith projections 33, or other gripping means, on their outer surfaces asshown.

The sliding collar 3! is operated by a yoke 44 on the end of an arm 45and the arm is pivotally mounted in a bearing 46 on the inside of thecase as shown. The upper end 4? of the arm 45 is pivotally attached to alink 48 at the point 49 and the link is pivotally attached to the lowerend of a lever 59 at the point M. The lever 50 extends upward throughthe plate 52 forming a cover for the housing, and is pivotally mountedon a pin 53. V The lever 59 is also provided with a spring pin 5-4 whichis operated by a handle 55 attached to the upper end of the lever, andthis engages a segment 56 provided with notches 57. The pin 54resiliently held downward by a spring 59 as shown in Figures 1 and 4;however it wiil be understood that this lever may be formed in anymanner, or the lever 56 may be held in different positions by any means.

The shaft 24 upon which the gear 23 is mounted is rotatabiy mounted inbearings 59 and 69 having bushings SI and 62 therein which are similarto the bushing 2 I, and these are also provided with balls 63 formingthrust bearings at the ends of the shaft. The lower part 64 of thesection 4 of the case I is provided with an opening 95 having a coverplate 65 held by screws 51 inorder to provide clearance for the gear 34in assembling the differential the case. It will be understood, however,that this is only a typical arrangement as the case may be made of anyother design or arranged in any other manner in order to facilitateassembling.

The shaft I1 is also provided with a gear 68 which is keyed to the shaftand this gear meshes with a gear 59 on a shaft 10 which is the upperdrive shaft and extends through the central portion 6 of the case, andthis shaft drives the whole operating mechanism at the opposite end ofthe case. The gear 69 is freely mounted upon the shaft I9 as shown inFigure 13 and is formed with a hub H which extends outward from eachside and recesses are formed therein. The end surface of the hub at oneend is provided with teeth corresponding with similar teeth on thesliding collar 12 which is slidable on a bushing l3 the bushing andcollar are keyed to the shaft 19 by key I4 which extends through theshaft and also through the bushing 13 and into notches in the collar I2.The bushing I3 is provided with slotted openings permitting a slidingmovement therein in relation to the key.

The member i2 is operated by a yoke which is connected to the lower endof a lever 16 as shown in Figure l and the lever 16 is pivotally mountedin the case on a pin TI. The upper portion of the lever is provided witha ratchet similar to the ratchet on lever 59 and adapted to hold thelever in different positions in the same manner. At the inner end of thebushing E3 is a comparatively thick flange or disc l8 which ispositioned to frietionally engage the face of the gear 69 and on theopposite side of the gear is a similar disc 19 which is keyed to theshaft 79 by a key 89, and it will be noted that with the member 13released by member 12 a spring 8| will force the member 58 against thegear 69 and thereby clamp the gear between the members i8 and 19 so thatthe gear will be frictionally held to the shaft and adapted to rotatetherewith, and when it is desired to release the gear the member 12 isdrawn backward by the yoke through the lever 35 until it engages a nut82 threaded on the bushing 73 so that the spring will be compressed andthe gear will be freed from the members i8 and E9. When it is desired topositively lock the gear on the shaft the lever 76 is moved to a furtherposition so that the coupling members between the members -II and 12will engage and form a positive connection. The spring 8I mounted on theshaft 10 and one 7 end rests against a nut 83 which is threaded on theshaft l0 and the other end bears against the end. of the bushing I3.

The opposite end of the shaft III is held in a bearing 84 which may bemade as shown in Figures l and 2, or of any other design, and on the outr end'of the shaft is a bevel gear 85 that 93 is mounted upon the hub ofthe gear and the gear is freely rotatable on a shaft 94 which forms theforward drive shaft for the hoes. However, this shaft is driven througha counter-shaft 95 A rear drive shaft as hereinafter described for thehoes is also-driven from the counter shaft 95 by similar worm gears,except that the gears are opposite hand so that the former and reardrive shafts are driven in opposite directions. The gear 9I meshes witha gear 98 on a small stub shaft 99, and the hub of this gear is alsoattached a spur gear I00 which meshes with and drives a similar geariiII keyed on the shaft 95. The shaft 99 is stationary and one end isheld in a bracket I02 whereas the opposite end extends beyond the shaft94 and is attached to a yoke I03 by screws I84 as shown in Figure 9. Theworm 96 is fixedly mounted on the shaft 95 and this drives the worm 91on the shaft 94 and the outer ends of the shaft 94 extend throughbearings I95 and I96 in the sides of the rear section 5 of the case andon the outer ends of the shaft are eccentrics I9! and I08 which with theshaft 94 form a crankshaft for the hoes, and at the outer ends of theeccentrics are pins I09 and I I9 extending from the ends thereof uponwhich bearings III are held by washers H2 and bolts H3. The bearings IIIat both'sides are similar and the same reference numerals are used forboth.

The ends of the hoe support rods are operated through eccentrics on ashaft I I4 which is driven opposite to the shaft 94 through worm gearsH5 and H6 from the shaft 95 and bearings I", which are mounted on theends of the shaft I I4 y crank arms Hi8 and H9. The worm H5 is oppositeto the worm 95, and this unit also forms a crankshaft which turns in theopposite direction to the crankshaft formed by the shaft 94 and theeccentrics I91 and I08.

The shafts 94 and H4 are mounted in the yoke I 93 which is shown indetail in Figures 9 to 12 and this yoke is pivoted around the shaft) .85and worm gears 96 and 91 as shown in Figure 8.

' fixedly held in the bearings Ill.

94 with the outer end slideably held in the case. The outer end isprovided with members I20 having curved inner surfaces I2I which rideagainst flanges I22 on the stationary section of the part 5 of the case,and it will be noted that with this member in the position shown inFigure 1 in which it is shown in full lines, the hoes will operatethrough a cycle of positions, as indicated by the lines I23 shown inFigure 15; however, the rear end of this yoke may be raised until theshaft H4 is in the position shown by the dotted lines I24 which, it willbe noted, will provide a diiferent movement for the hoes as indicated bythe dash lines. The outer end of the yoke may be raised by raising thecap I25 forming the upper portion of the rear end of the case, and thiscap is hinged at the upper end on a pin I26, and the lower end is heldthrough a flange I21 by bolts I28. The sides of the cap I25 conform tothe line I29 extending from the hinge to the dotted position I24 of theshaft H4, and then downward against the outer surface of the flange I22to the center and then outward on a line corresponding with the face ofa complementary flange I30 at the end of the lower portion 5. The boltI28 may be removed and the cap I25 raised, and then the rear end of theyoke may be raised to the position indicated by the dotted lines I24 andthe cap replaced and bolted back into position. The rear end of the yokemay, therefore, be raised and lowered as may be desired. The openings inthe sides of the case to accommodate the ends of the yoke may be coveredwith cover plates, I3I, which may be pivotally attached by pins I32, asshown. The rear of the case is supported upon the roller 9 which ismounted in a bracket I33 attached to the back of the case by bolts I34.

The hoes 3 are formed with plates, as shown in Figures 3 and 6 havinghubs I35 at their upper ends which are mounted upon rods I36, and therods are slidably held in the bearings I II and The ends of these rodsare formed with yokes I31, and these are fixedly held in the bearings II! by set screws I38, and it will be noted that as the shafts S4 and H4rotate simultaneously in opposite directions, the hoes 3 will movealternately as indicated by the lines I23 in Figure 15.

The device may also be provided with a plow I39, as shown in Figures 1and 3, and this may be attached to the under side of the case by boltsI40, or by any means. This device is shown in the form of a plow,however it will be understood that any means may be used in combinationwith the device for spreading the cultivated soil around the roots ofthe plants.

The handle It may be attached to a stud I4I on the cover plate 52, asshown in Figure l, or to the upper part of the case by any other means,and a fuel tank, as indicated by the numeral I42, may also be placedabove the cover plate 52, and this may be held to the handle by a strapI 43, or by any means. It will be understood, however, that any othermeans may be used for storing fuel, and this may be located at anypoint, or points, on the device.

The sides of the rear portion 5 of the case are formed with openingsI44, and these may be covered by cover plates I45 which may be held bybolts I45, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. Similar openings may be providedin the case at any other point, or points, and any means may be used forcovering and sealing the openings. The bearings I05 and I06 are formedwith the lower sides in the lower portion of these openings, and thebearing I05 is provided with a bushing I41- which is made integral withthe yoke I03, whereas the bearing I05 is provided with a similar bushingI48 that is independently mounted in the 5 bearing in the case and thesebushings are held by caps I49 with bolts I50. The outer end of the yokeis provided with bushings I20 which move upward and downward with theyoke and the shaft I I4 is mounted in these bushings with the centralpart thereof held in a web I5I. The outer bushing is supported by across member I52 from the web I5I and this is attached to a web portionI53 by upwardly extending bearings I55 and I5 5 at the ends thereof, andthese bearings may be made solid at the inner end and at the outer endprovided with a cap I51 held by bolts I58 as shown in Figure 11.

It will be understood that a case or housing of any other design may beused and other changes may be made in the construction without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoingdescription. In use the de vice may be provided as shown and described,and it will be noted that with an engine or motor on the forward endconnected to the member I6 the device may be held and moved by thehandle I0, and as the entire device is comparatively small it may bereadily guided by the handle so that it may be moved along a row ofplants, trees, vines or the like, and the movement may be adjusted sothat the hoes will penetrate a slight or considerable depth into thesoil, and with the movement of the hoes also adjusted it will bepossible to dig weeds or cultivate, or just break the surface, orthoroughly spade or dig up a section of ground by just moving the devicethereover. The device is, therefore, a power-driven, hand-operatedcultivator, and as it may readily be operated 0 with very little eifort,it has many uses.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A cultivator of the type having a housing 45 case with one endmounted upon traction wheels and the other resting upon a spacing rollerand in which a handle is provided on the case by which the end havingthe roller thereon mayreadily be raised about the traction wheels, twosub- 50 stantially horizontal eccentric shafts extending though thecase, hoes mounted on the ends of said shafts on the sides of said caseand adjacent the spacing roller end and means within the case by whichsaid hoes may be operated.

2. A cultivator as described in claim 1 having a motor positioned on theend adjacent the traction wheels, means whereby said motor drives saidtraction wheels and other means whereby said motor drives the hoeoperating means.

3. A cultivator as described in claim 1 in which the hoes are mountedupon crank arms on the ends of the eccentric shafts extending throughthe casing, and on both sides thereof.

4. A cultivator as described in claim 1 having 65 means adjusting theposition of one of the shafts to adjust the motion of the hoes.

5. In a hoe machine of the self-propelled type and adapted to be guidedby hand, a case, traction wheels supporting one end of the case, a 70spacing roller supporting the opposite end of the case, a handleextending upward from the case, a motor adapted to drive and operate themachine mounted on the traction Wheel end of the case, spring separatingsaid motor from the 75 mounting means, a counter shaft extending fromsaid motor into the case, a coupling between said motor and countershaft, a stub shaft positioned below said counter shaft, gearsconnecting said counter shaft to said stub shaft adapted to rotate thestub shaft from the counter shaft, a differential between said tractionwheels, shafts extending from said differential to the sides of the caseupon which said traction wheels are mounted, said stub shaft extendinginto said differential and adapted to operate the same to drive thetraction Wheels, a clutch on said stub shaft, means operating saidclutch from the upper part of the casing, a main drive shaft positionedabove the counter shaft and extending through the upper part of thecasing, gears connecting the counter shaft to the main drive shaft, aclutch between said gears and the main drive shaft, a friction memberwithin said clutch providing automatic release thereof, means operatingsaid clutch from a point above said case, horizontal shafts positionedtransversely of said case and in the end thereof opposite tothat uponwhich the traction wheels are mounted, means driving a bushing on one ofsaid horizontal shafts from said main shaft, an auxiliary counter shaftbetween said horizontal shafts, gears connecting said auxiliary countershaft to said horizontal shafts causing rotation of said horizontalshafts in opposite directions, similar gears connecting the bushing onone of said horizontal shafts to the auxiliary counter shaft for drivingthe same, eccentrics on the ends of said horizontal shafts, rods mountedon the ends of said eccentrics and hoes on the forward ends of saidrods.

6. A device as described in claim 5 in which one of said horizontalshafts may be raised to adjust the movement of said hoes,

'7. A cultivator of the type having motor operated diggers on a casemounted on wheels and having a handle for manual operation,characterized by two horizontal shafts extending through the case,eccentric arms at each side of said case mounted on the ends of saidshafts, rods pivotally 9. A cultivator as described in claim 7,'furthercharacterized in that the digger ends of the rods are suspended belowthe ends of the arms.

.10. A cultivator as described in claim 7, further characterized byslidably mounting'the outer ends of said rods in said arms.

11. A cultivator as described in claim '7, further characterized in thatmeans is provided for adjusting the position of one of said shafts forchanging the action of said hoes.

12. In combination with a cultivator as described in claim 7, a plowmounted on the under side of the case following the diggers forsmoothing over the ground.

13. A cultivator as described in claim '7, in which traction wheels areused on the forward end and the handle is provided for raising the rearand diggers to clear rocks and the like.

14; A cultivator as described in claim '7, in which traction wheels areused at the forward end and the motor is mounted ahead of the tractionwheels for counterbalancing the rear, to facilitate raising the hoesforming the diggers.

15. A cultivator as described in claim 7, further characterized in thatthe diggers are driven through the case and the driving mechanism isenclosed therein. 7

16. A cultivator as described in claim 7, further characterized in thatthe diggers are driven 'by the motor through the case and operatinglevers extend above the case for manual control.

1'7. A cultivator as described in claim 7, further characterized in thatthe shafts are mounted in an intermediate yoke, one end of which isadapted to be raised.

18. A cultivator as described in claim 7, further characterized in thatthe shafts and gears through which one of said shafts is operated aremounted in an inner yoke. 7

19.'A cultivator as described in claim '7, further characterized in thatone motor operates the diggers and also the propelling means through thecasein which means is provided for shifting from the diggers to thepropelling means or for driving both in unison, and also in which thepropelling means drives through traction wheels.

20. A device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the shaftsare driven in'opposite directions.

GEORGE HANTJOPOULOS.

